Ozonolysis is a chemical reaction generally known in the art. Ozonolysis is the reaction of an olefin with ozone in which the unsaturated carbon-carbon bond is cleaved and replaced with a double bond to oxygen, represented below in Equation I.R1R2C═CR3R4+O3⇄R1R2C═O+O═CR3R4  (I)
wherein R1, R2, R3, and R4 are organic groups or hydrogen.
Oxidative cleavage is also a chemical process that is generally known in the art. Examples for oxidative cleavage reaction conditions involving olefinic compounds are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,596,111, and 5,939,572, herein incorporated by reference. In the oxidative cleavage reaction, carboxylic acids are prepared by reacting an olefinic compound with oxygen in the presence of a peroxide, solvent, and inorganic oxide catalyst, represented below in Equation II.R1R2C═CR3R4+O2, H2O2⇄R1R2COOH+R3R4COOH  (II)
wherein R1, R2, R3, and R4 are organic groups or hydrogen.
In recent years, there has been an increased demand for environmentally friendly techniques for manufacturing materials typically derived from petroleum sources. For example, researchers have been studying the feasibility of manufacturing biofuels, waxes, plastics, and the like, using natural feedstocks, such as vegetable and seed-based oils.
Natural feedstocks of interest include, for example, natural oils (e.g., vegetable oils, fish oil, animal fats) and derivatives of natural oils, such as fatty acids and fatty acid alkyl (e.g., methyl) esters. These feedstocks may be converted into industrially useful chemicals (e.g., waxes, plastics, cosmetics, biofuels, etc.) by any number of different reactions.
In recent years, there has been an increased demand for petroleum-based transportation fuels. Concerns exist that the world's petroleum production may not be able to keep up with demand. Additionally, the increased demand for petroleum-based fuels has resulted in a higher production of greenhouse gases. In particular, the airline industry accounts for greater than 10% of the greenhouse gases within the United States. Due to the increased demand for fuel and increased production of greenhouse gases, there is a need to explore methods of producing environmentally-friendly, alternative fuel sources. In particular, there is a need to explore methods of producing environmentally friendly jet fuel from a natural feedstock.